As prom season rapidly approaches South, dresses, tuxes and everything in between are in high demand as students race to find their dream attire.
Princesses & Penguin is currently under new management by Mai Moxter. Although Moxter has always had a passion for fashion and design throughout her middle and high school days, it wasn’t until she got the opportunity to do an internship with David’s Bridal that she decided that this was the career she wanted to pursue.
“I worked one on one with the bride and seeing how everything comes together perfectly brings me a lot of joy. I have worked in the dress and formal wear industry for about 15 years. I enjoy working in this field and I have stayed ever since.” Moxter said.
Moxter’s family mostly lives in Salina, and so last year, she made the move back to her home town in order to be closer to her loved ones.
“Family is very important to me so my family has moved back to Salina from Kansas City because family is everything. Because of this move we have found Princess and Penguin and reviving this local dress shop to Salina has been a great opportunity.” said Moxter.
Princess & Penguins provide for a very wide range of formal wear. They have special occasion dresses for events such as military balls, high school dances, weddings and more. Being a bridal store, they also offer wedding attire for flower girls, mother of the bride, tuxes and wedding gowns.
“I specialize in design so we can create a one of a kind dress for customers. If they have an idea that we do not have, we can shop for them out in the market, and if not then we can see what alterations, skills, and designs we can apply to bring it all together.” Moxter said.
The dress shop welcomes people to walk in and browse for all formal wear, but does recommend appointments; especially around Homecoming, Sadies and Prom so that each customer can have a wonderful experience and a special time that is tailored to them.
The process of finding a dress starts off with a consultation on what occasion customers are buying for and what style they have in mind.
“Some questions that we will ask will be things like ‘Do you like a ballgown look or do you prefer fitted?’ ‘What color you are looking for’,” Moxter said.
They have a wide range of prices to accommodate everyone. Princesses & Penguins have dresses that start off at $50 and dresses that go to $475. Prices depend on what style the dress is.
Princess & Penguin also do alterations for their dresses,and for dresses from other dress shops as well. The price of alterations depends on the work load of the alteration itself.
“From the time you come in to get your first fitting and at every point of the process, we will let you know the price right away, and let you decide how you would like to proceed. We’ll give you a look at what your dress will look like before and after alterations. We want to let you know the price of each step before we do it so that nothing will be a surprise at the end,” said Moxter.
Princess & Penguin register dresses that have been bought for proms for South and Central to ensure that no one will have the same dress on their special day.
“We want to make sure that no one has the same dress at least if they are purchasing from us because it is a special day.” said Moxter
This year, it looks like greens and blues are very in season. Sequins and sparkly dresses are very popular and get sold quickly.
Prom is indeed a special dance for high schoolers all around; juniors and seniors the need to buy the perfect dress for the occasion is essential. Visit Princesses & Penguins if you are looking for a prom dress, and for all of your formal wear needs.
